


A lesson in lockpicks

by Haethel



Category: Thief (Video Game 2014), Thief (Video Games)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Erin's apprenticeship, F/M, Pre-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2018-01-18 02:05:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1410952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haethel/pseuds/Haethel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written for the prompt: Reboot-Garrett is wandering the streets at night, when he sees a guy (maybe even a guard?) raping a young woman/teen, screaming for help. How does he react? Will it leave him cold, or will he save her? Give me the angst, lol</p></blockquote>





	A lesson in lockpicks

Blackfurrow was almost deserted this far past midnight. Garrett crouched motionless halfway up the steps to the street, eyes half closed as he allowed the sounds of the city to seep through him. The footfalls of the Watch patrols clattered through the alleyway every few minutes, accompanied by raucous laughter from the occasional drunkard groping his way home from the pub. Erin was crouched at the cellar door, muttering under her breath as she poked and prodded at the lock with her picks. A pin slipped yet again, the loud click echoing in the narrow stairwell. Garrett held his breath for a heartbeat, but the street above was silent.

Erin scowled. "The pins must be bent or something."

"There's nothing wrong with the lock. Relax, and try again."

Erin cursed under her breath and stabbed her picks back into the lock. Garrett returned his attention to the street. There seemed little danger in allowing Erin to continue picking at the lock for as long as it took her. She'd mastered the practice locks he kept at the clocktower with little difficulty, and it was time she learned to put her new skills into practice out on the streets. It wouldn’t be too long before she was skilled enough to take her with him on a real job. A streetlight flickered at the corner of the street above, but the deep shadows at the base of the stairwell cloaked them and the steep angle of the steps left the doorway where Erin crouched practically invisible from the street. They had time.

"Don't touch me!"

The sudden shout came from somewhere around the corner, and the sound of running footsteps hurtled toward them. With a quick glance back toward Erin, Garrett flowed up the steps toward the street to get a better look. A girl in a ragged dress darted around the corner, clutching hold of the wall to steady herself. She was young ... younger than Erin. Hardly old enough to be out alone on the streets after dark. She gasped for breath, looking around frantically. Spotting the stairwell, she ran for cover and pressed herself against the bricks, sobbing with fear. Garrett retreated swiftly back down the steps and deeper into the shadows before the girl could see him.

No sooner had the girl hidden herself then the drunken shuffle and scrape of well-heeled boots rounded the corner. A sickly electric glow reflected off the brass buttons of a stained Watch jacket as the man paused under the streetlight to catch his breath. The girl pressed a hand over her mouth in an attempt to silence herself, only to freeze in horror as her foot knocked over a glass bottle someone had abandoned on the step.

At the sound of shattering glass, the drunken guard laughed and lurched forward. He grinned as he advanced on the girl, grabbing at her arm roughly. He shoved her backward down the steps and up against the wall next to the doorway, leaning in close to paw at her chest. She struggled, but the guard was too heavy for her and laughed at her futile attempts to push him away.

Garrett crouched protectively over Erin. The stairwell was too narrow for them to slip past and up the steps, and the railings lining the edge of the street offered no purchase for Erin's claw to grip. Reaching back, he laid a hand over Erin's where she still clutched at her picks. In these close quarters, if the lock clicked again they would be caught. The two of them stilled their breathing, melting as far back into the shadows as the narrow doorway allowed. They might be trapped in the stairwell, but so long as the guard remained distracted they were in no immediate danger.

"Don't touch me!" The girl pulled a hand free and raked her nails down the leering face. The guard spat a curse at her, grabbing her wrists in one hand and pinning them above her head against the wall. With the other he groped clumsily at her skirts, ripping at them as he tried to force his way between her legs.

"Don't touch me!" The girl writhed, trying to twist away. The drunk jerked her sharply toward himself then shoved her roughly back against the wall, drawing a cry of pain from her as her head slammed into the bricks.

Erin was shaking, her eyes screwed tightly shut. Under his hand, her fists clenched and unclenched around the picks, causing them to scrape against the inner workings of the lock. Garrett frowned, and tightened his free arm around her shoulders, trying to calm her and hold her still. But instead of the touch comforting her, she only grew more agitated.

"Don't touch me!" Unable to fight back the guard's advances, the girl turned her face away and screwed her eyes shut, going limp against the wall. The drunk grunted with satisfaction and fumbled at his belt.

"Don't touch me!"

Garrett's eyes widened as he heard Erin moan softly under her breath, curling in on herself. If he didn't do something and soon, the guard was going to hear her and they would be discovered. Letting go her hands, he reached around to the quiver at his back. He drew out a broadhead arrow, spinning it silently across the back of his hand until the shaft lay across his palm with the arrowhead clutched like a dagger. He shifted smoothly forward on the balls of his feet until he was crouched directly behind the drunk guard, so close he could smell the cheap whiskey on the sour breath.

Garrett surged to his feet, gliding the arrowhead upward and between the guard's ribs. He twisted the arrowhead, grabbing hold of the meaty shoulder and pulling. As the guard crumpled bleeding onto the cobbles, he found himself face to face with the terrified girl. She opened her mouth to scream.

Garrett quickly brought a hand up to stifle the sound, leaning in close to her ear to whisper. "You're safe. No-one is going to hurt you."

She nodded and swallowed, eyes wide with fear. Garrett released her and she fled up the steps to the street without looking back, her running footsteps quickly swallowed up by the dark streets.

As soon she was gone Garrett turned back to Erin, to find himself alone in the stairwell. The cellar door stood ajar, and she had vanished inside. He followed, to find her kneeling on the floor in one corner, the heels of her hands pressed to her face.

"Erin?" He spoke softly and gently, dropping into a crouch beside her.

She flinched away, fists clenching. "Nothing. Just... nothing."

Garrett nodded. "Alright." He stood and turned away, giving her time to collect herself. "You got the door open."

"Of course I did. I'm not stupid." Erin scrambled to her feet, glaring at him.

He wiped at a smear of blood clinging to his glove. "We're leaving."

As they stepped carefully around the spreading pool of blood at the bottom of the steps, he felt Erin's glare boring into his back.

 

\-------------

 

Erin was silent all the way back to the clocktower. She sat cross-legged on the lid of the chest by the foot of the stairs, picking at the dirt under her fingernails and avoiding his gaze. Garrett went about stowing his gear then sat on the edge of his bed to clean the blood off his gloves and harness.

"Why did you kill him?"

He looked up. "You'd prefer getting strung up by the Watch?"

"You know what I mean."

Garrett shrugged, and returned to inspecting his gloves. One of the side seams was coming loose.

"So it's alright when you do it, but not when I do it." Erin glowered at him before jumping down off the chest. "Fine. I get it." She stalked up the stairs and threw the lockpicks down onto the nearest table.

"Erin—"

The window frame upstairs banged shut behind her and he heard footsteps skittering away across the rooftops. A few seconds later he heard the faint sound of a tile shattering on the cobblestones in the plaza far below.

Garrett sighed, putting his gloves aside and dropping his forehead into his hands. There was no point in explaining. She never listened anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: Reboot-Garrett is wandering the streets at night, when he sees a guy (maybe even a guard?) raping a young woman/teen, screaming for help. How does he react? Will it leave him cold, or will he save her? Give me the angst, lol


End file.
